Winter exhibitions on view at AMSET through April 7, 2013

The Art Museum of Southeast Texas (AMSET) announced its winter exhibitions showcasing artwork by an extraordinary group of contemporary artists. Sarah Williams: Remote America, Edge of Mists: Photography by David H. Gibson and San Angelo Ceramics will be on view through April 7, 2013.

Sarah Williams: Remote America

Sarah Williams: Remote America exhibits familiar scenes transformed by glowing lights and enveloping darkness. Sarah Williams’ oil paintings recognize the beauty and isolation that can be found in seemingly ordinary places such as car washes, gas stations, and parking lots. Much of her artwork is a reflection of the rural Midwest where she grew up. She is drawn to the familiar places that are often ignored, but are always present on the periphery. Williams depicts these scenes as lonely, remote places illuminated by an eerie glow and surrounded by vast darkness. The artist’s use of saturated color creates an intense and expressive depth and mood in her images.

Williams taught painting and drawing at the University of North Texas. She is now a tenure track professor of painting and drawing at Missouri State University. Williams will be leading a lesson with Ozen High School students on chiaroscuro – the use of strong contrast between light and dark to achieve the illusion of three-dimension. In addition, she will visit with the Odom Junior Docents. After the students view her artwork, they will learn about her approach to painting and her source of ideas. Williams will explain how she renders glowing lights and how to incorporate the drama of light to strengthen an image. She will also describe how to create a dramatic format in artwork, and establish different fields of focus and depth.

Sarah Williams: Remote America was organized by AMSET and funded, in part, by the city of Beaumont through the Southeast Texas Arts Council; the Wesley W. Washburn, M.D. and Lulu L. Smith, M.D. Endowment Fund; the Texas Commission on the Arts; the late Dorothy Anne Conn; Helen Caldwell Locke and Curtis Blakey Locke Charitable Trust; C. Homer and Edith Fuller Chambers Charitable Foundation; and Goodyear-Beaumont Chemical.

Edge of Mists: Photography by David H. Gibson

Also on view is Edge of Mists: Photography by David H. Gibson featuring the haunting and captivating large scale black and white landscape photographs of Texas and New Mexico by artist David H. Gibson. Gibson, a renowned Texas photographer, has won numerous prestigious awards for his photographs. He has exhibited widely and is included in a number of private and corporate collections.

Gibson’s work is full of atmospheric light, giving the photographs an ethereal quality. The human figure is not found in the landscapes, allowing the images to appear timeless. His photographs allow the viewer to trace the beautiful lines created by bald cypress, marshland grasses, and lily pad stems. In addition to the photographs on the wall, one of Gibson’s handmade books will be on view. It is an accordion-style book with a series of pigment prints documenting sunrise on Eagle Nest Lake in New Mexico. The photographs document a serene chronology of this remote place, revealing the subtlety of changing light and reflections as a result of the fog and burning sun. This series as well as his other works evoke a sense of calm and examine the resplendent beauty of nature. A simple blade of grass, light, and water becomes captivating.

Gibson is a Texas native, born in Louisville, Texas. He has studied under many notable artists including Ansel Adams, Ruth Bernhard, Michael Kenna, Olivia Parker and John Sexton, among others. His work can be found in many collections including at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, the Amon Carter Museum, the Amarillo Museum of Art, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Tyler Museum of Art, and the Dallas Museum of Art.

Edge of Mists: Photography by David H. Gibson is organized by AMSET and funded, in part, by C. Homer and Edith Fuller Chambers Charitable Foundation; the Wesley W. Washburn, M.D. and Lulu L. Smith, M.D. Endowment Fund; the late Dorothy Anne Conn; Helen Caldwell Locke and Curtis Blakey Locke Charitable Trust; the Texas Commission on the Arts; the city of Beaumont; Goodyear-Beaumont Chemical; and Dr. and Mrs. Todd Clarke.

San Angelo Ceramics

San Angelo Ceramics, organized by AMSET, shares representative pieces from the San Angelo Museum of Fine Arts’ permanent collection. The San Angelo Museum has nationally recognized ceramics as a result of artwork purchased from its biannual juried competition. The exhibition features works by multiple artists displaying a variety of techniques and manipulation of the media. Works by the following artists will be on view: Miguel Abugattas, Erik Bright, Elizabeth Farson, Barbara Frey, Geoff Holle, Margaret Israel, Amy Sabrina Myers, Nobuhito Nishigawara, Jerry Rothman, Chris Staley, Judit Varga, James Watral and Kurt Weiser.

Featured artists Barbara Frey and Elizabeth Farson employ trompe l’oeil in their work. While artists James Watral and Judit Varga juxtapose one another, Watral’s Cone #7 appears to be sharp, heavy and metallic while Varga’s Empty Pod seems light, airy and inviting to touch. Other works celebrate pattern, texture, and form providing a myriad of visual stimulation.

San Angelo Ceramics was organized by AMSET and funded, in part, by C. Homer and Edith Fuller Chambers Charitable Foundation; the Wesley W. Washburn, M.D. and Lulu L. Smith, M.D. Endowment Fund; the late Dorothy Anne Conn; Helen Caldwell Locke and Curtis Blakey Locke Charitable Trust; the Texas Commission on the Arts; and the city of Beaumont.

Visit AMSET in downtown Beaumont to explore the work of these remarkable artists. For more information on the exhibitions or opening reception, visit www.amset.org or call (409) 832-3432.

Through unique collections, exhibitions, public programs and outreach in the visual arts, the mission of the Art Museum of Southeast Texas is to provide education, inspiration and creative vision throughout Southeast Texas.

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